By: Nick Haddad
Who Is Ryan Morie?
Over the past decade, YouTube and social media have completely reshaped the fishing world. Whether you’re a hardcore angler or someone who enjoys watching fishing videos between trips, chances are you’ve come across Ryan Morie. We’ve had the opportunity to fish with Ryan not once, but twice, and this time we took things a step further—sitting down with him to talk about his journey into fishing content creation. If you haven’t watched his videos yet, we’ve linked his profile and social channels below, along with the two Return ’Em Right videos we filmed together.
How did you get started in fishing, and what inspired you to begin sharing your experiences online?
I’ve been around fishing for most of my life, I started like most kids do, small pieces of bait on a push-button combo catching anything I can. In my case it was alligator gar and catfish in the tiny brackish canal behind my childhood home.
I’ve been creating YouTube videos since early 2017. I spent much of the 2010s as a huge consumer of YouTube content so sharing my fishing adventures felt like a natural thing to do. Additionally my best friend Viktor Hluben (Landshark Outdoors online) was already creating his own YouTube videos so having someone close to me doing the same thing was very encouraging.
Is there a single catch or fishing memory that stands out amongst all of your great catches and adventures through your life? If so, what is it?
When I say I peaked in high school, I’m not exaggerating. Growing up as a regular pier rat on the Juno Beach Fishing Pier there was one fish that stood out as the most desirable to the locals. That fish was a cobia. In the early 2000s through 2013 there was a fairly consistent sight fishery off the pier for them. Any given Saturday there would be more than a dozen anglers standing on the rail staring at the water with a bucktail jig rod at their side. Their hope was to see a pod of cobia swimming on the surface, cast their jig in front of one, and have it eat the jig in plain sight. When everything came together it was electric.
On December 21, 2010 a 16-year-old version of me was standing on the rail, jig rod at my side, chatting with a buddy. Suddenly one of the mackerel fishermen in the corner exclaimed “look at those two cobia” and for a second you could see 2 brown cobia in the 30-lb class range come close to the surface before immediately descending through the silty-green water back towards the bottom. Most of us knew there was likely a large bottom ray and a pod of cobia were following it. The cobia anglers (myself included) took our best guess at where we thought the ray would be, tossed our jigs in and sank them down to the sand. I started lightly bouncing mine and after 3 or 4 taps the line started to tighten….
I set the hook multiple times to ensure the 9/0 jig hook found its home and after a 40 yard drag screaming run we saw what appeared to be a shark sized cobia shake its head violently on the surface. I had no clue how big this fish was, but I knew it was the biggest I had ever seen. The fish took me from the end of the pier all the way to the center. Along the way we had to dodge pompano fisherman, the pier’s shade hut and a multitude of surfers. After 15 teeth chattering minutes I had the cobia straight up and down where one of the locals was able to stick a pier gaff into the giant fish. She hit the deck of the pier and everyone went crazy. It was the biggest cobia I had ever seen in any situation. We eventually took the fish to Juno Bait and Tackle to weigh it in, and she bottomed out the scale at 71.6 pounds. It shattered the previous pier record of 55lbs and to my knowledge still stands as the biggest cobia landed from Juno Pier.
What are the most common handling and release mistakes you see anglers make (for any species)? Do you have any advice for those individuals?
I see poor handling and poor releases in every type of fishing: inshore, offshore, land-based etc. But I’d also be a hypocrite if I didn’t mention that I’ve been the one poorly handling or poorly releasing fish in the past. Over the years I’ve learned a ton and correcting my mistakes has been something I’ve tried to be transparent about in my content.
Much of it comes down to education on how to take the best care of a resource. Knowing what you can encounter in your day on the water and how to handle each catch is hugely important. Wet hands, horizontal holds, quick photos are all a great place to start. Return ‘Em Right has a wealth of information on how to properly handle and release bottom fish as well as what to do in specific situations. I would highly recommend approaching fishing with a mindset that you’re “always learning.” We all can get stuck in our ways so having a willingness to take in new information on how to take care of our fishing resources will certainly benefit all of us.
When someone’s passion becomes their occupation, they sometimes lose what makes that hobby or lifestyle so special to them. How do you balance preserving your passion for fishing with providing your audiences with the content they want to see?
Keeping the passion alive is honestly easier said than done. I aim to keep my content a blend of what I think will reach the biggest audience while also being something I’m excited about doing. My interests have definitely changed over the years and I’m sure they will continue to morph the rest of my life.
What responsibility do you feel as a fishing influencer when it comes to conservation or sustainability for the future of the sport?
I definitely feel a responsibility to set the best example I can. However, I think we all can approach it that same way whether we have 1 follower or 1 million. Our decisions matter and how we do things will impact how those around us act as well.
What has fishing taught you about life, both on and off the water?
Actions have consequences, every little decision you make can have an impact on the outcomes you receive. Preparation matters on the water and even more off the water. Feeling lazy so you don’t change your frayed leader? Bam, you just broke off the biggest fish of the day. Buy the bargain brand lure? Miraculously your buddy with more attention to detail out fishes you all day long.
These types of lessons flow over to life in the small scale and the big scale. Whether it’s the decision to take 20 extra minutes to prepare for a job interview, or doing 10 minutes of research before a regular meeting. Doing a little bit more work can lead to exponentially better results.
Where can I watch these videos?
Follow Ryan on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to catch more of his content. And don’t forget to check out Return ‘Em Right and Ryan’s collaboration as they search for speckled hind and release fish in over 300’ of water! Watch it here.
How Anglers, and Influencers, Can Help Return ’Em Right.
As Ryan shared during our conversation, whether you have one follower or one million, the way you fish, and the way you show it, matters. Every decision on the water has the potential to influence someone else, often more than we realize. In fishing, peer pressure is one of the strongest drivers of behavior change; anglers learn by watching what others do and often follow what feels normal or accepted. That’s why visibility and example are so powerful in this sport. Through Return ’Em Right, our goal is to be a positive force in that cycle—helping set the standard, sharing science-backed best practices, and encouraging anglers everywhere to release fish in the best way possible so our fisheries remain healthy for generations to come.
Interested in supporting our mission? Consider partnering with us to help amplify our voice in teaching responsible release.
